Title

EDITORIAL - Va. shooting cause for reflection

Description

By: STAFF EDITORIAL
Posted: 4/17/07

Many news outlets are calling it "the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history." For us, yesterday&#39;s shootings at Virginia Tech were a horrible tragedy, and they&#39;re also a reminder for all of us to examine our own campuses.

We join college students across the nation in extending our condolences to the families and friends of the Virginia Tech students who died yesterday. Certainly those students were in the forefront of our thoughts and in the background of our actions today.

Shock will diminish and the bleak reality of this heinous event will become clearer in the days to come. It&#39;s too early to know many of the important details of the shooting, but we do know that this will have an effect on college campuses across the country for years to come.

Many students watch or read the news and wonder if their own campuses would be able to handle a similar situation. We also wonder if the communication methods in place now are capable of keeping us abreast of developing situations on campus - not all of us have PDAs and BlackBerrys. Certainly, entire university communities are going to be looking for answers from their own administrators about safety measures that are in place and how they&#39;ll be augmented to better handle potential future emergency situations.

In the hours after the shootings, it seems as if many are quick to blame Virginia Tech for the shootings. After a thorough investigation into Monday&#39;s events is completed, Tech might receive criticism for its handling of the shootings - it might not. But as is the case at most campus, you do the best you can - universities and colleges aren&#39;t necessarily responsible for the actions of disturbed people. They certainly can&#39;t check every single person at every single door in every single building on their sprawling campus. They have to maintain security on campus while striking a careful balance with civil liberties.

Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg, in a statement to The Pitt News, said "We offer our heartfelt condolences to the friends and families of the victims and stand ready to be of assistance to members of the Virginia Tech community in any way they would find helpful."

And we hope that the college community in Blacksburg will be able to find solace in the offers of condolences from people across the world and be able to recover from an event that has already affected so many, from the victims to their families and to all of us who watch the television and read the stories online and ask: Why?

There has never been an act as violent in college history, and we hope that the future does not hold anything more tragic, but instead a chance to work with members of the community to make sure that we minimize the chances of this ever happening again.

Language

Title

Description

Just days after the tragic shooting at Virginia Tech, NBC made the inappropriate decision to release videos of killer Cho Seung-Hui angrily ranting about the reasoning behind his crimes.

Cho had sent a package that contained 43 photos, 28 video clips and a 23-page letter directly to NBC headquarters in New York during a break in his shooting spree on Monday. After NBC first released the shocking "multimedia manifesto" on the NBC Nightly News broadcast, 24-hour news networks quickly followed suit, constantly showing the disturbing video excerpts and photo clips.

The media&#39;s release of Cho&#39;s photos and diatribe gave a deeper look into the mind and motivations of the killer, a decision that has had a great ripple affect across the country. While NBC stands by its decision to release the material, we believe the choice was made too hastily, without much thought or sensitivity for the families of the victims of the shooting, who have only had days to handle the emotional effects of losing their loved ones.

Forensic psychiatrist and ABC News consultant Michael Welner appeared on "Good Morning America" yesterday to discuss the troublesome consequences. "This is a social catastrophe," Welner said. "This is perversion...[Cho] needs to create and produce his own picture in order to give himself a sense of power. Nobody saw him that way...that&#39;s why he set this up and he did this to achieve immortality."

Welner&#39;s argument is logical. This footage does not present the public with any deeper knowledge about the crimes and, for that reason, it is not at all newsworthy. Instead, showing the video is a disrespectful and insensitive action toward the Blacksburg victims. Furthermore, the broadcast footage gives the fame-seeking Cho an audience and a stage where he can attempt to justify his crimes. In other words, it gives him exactly what he wanted.

The problem is that 24-hour news networks have the unsettling habit of overeagerly reporting breaking news before having time to reflect upon the consequences of their coverage. NBC and other media outlets are pressured to constantly search for exciting and stimulating material to put on the air and as a result, they neglect to spend time on research and deliberation.

That&#39;s what went wrong here. Cho&#39;s video collection was treated as news gold and was broadcasted without enough forethought. NBC and the other news networks had an obligation to act more responsibly. The videos and photos should have been carefully investigated before they were broadcast. Someone should have sat back and reflected upon the material and the negative repercussions that could follow.

Unfortunately, our media tends to do this kind of thing all the time. As soon as we turn on our televisions, we are bombarded with news tickers, terror alerts and breaking stories that are blown up and emphasized to the extreme. Networks play on fear and paranoia to attract viewers, giving us shocking and reactive spurts of material that only serve to rouse our emotions.

Instead of focusing on being the first to get the scoop, NBC and other media outlets should concentrate on thoughtfully investigating material before putting them on the air.

Language

Title

Description

Pittsburgh Police responded to a report of a bomb in a Carnegie Mellon University parking lot yesterday and later deemed the area safe.

Forbes Avenue was closed for more than an hour yesterday afternoon after someone called 911 and allegedly saw a person putting a bomb in a white car.

Police later spotted the reported car and pulled it over in a parking lot on Carnegie Mellon&#39;s campus. After inspection the device was rendered safe, according to Pittsburgh Police Zone 4 spokesman Matthew White.

"Someone called in what they thought may have been a bomb," White said. "The car was inspected at CMU, which does a lot of work with the Defense Department, so it was a call we had to take seriously."

Forbes Avenue reopened around 2:30 p.m. yesterday after the Allegheny County bomb squad found a cylinder in the back of the car and deemed it not to be dangerous.

The driver was detained for questioning and an investigation is pending.

White admitted that the recent incident at Virginia Tech has people more anxious and that more precautions than usual are now needed.

"Virginia Tech has everyone on edge," he said. "This week is also the anniversary of the Columbine shootings and the bombing at Oklahoma City."

Language

Title

Description

Colleges all across America have come together to show support to the Virginia Tech students after the shootings that occurred there on April 16.

Pitt organized a student support group photo outside the Petersen Events Center on Friday April 20 at 4 p.m.

"The university came behind SGB, traditions committee, greek life and Student Alumni Association and helped spread the word for this event," Nora Duncan of the Athletics Department said.

An estimated 300 students dressed in Hokie orange and maroon and gathered in the Petersen lobby before getting the group photo taken. At exactly 4:02 p.m., the crowd of supporters, which included Petersen Events Center staff and members of the Athletics Department, collectively made their way outside to the panther statue by the event center.

"I am here just to support the Hokies. The whole thing affected my life," junior John Hollenberger said.

"We are college students and that could have happened anywhere. I think its good that everyone pulls together to support those schools states away."

Although the reason for the gathering was a tragic one, there were smiles and playful chatter all across the crowd as they took their places for the photo. Students climbed up on the University panther, crouched together at its side and sat on the pavement in front while the rest stood close by.

The cameraman gingerly climbed to the top of his ladder and coached the students on how to pose. More and more students in orange and maroon shirts flowed in to join the picture.

"Are we supposed to smile?" a girl from the crowd called out. The crowd was then instructed to smile for the photo and say "Hokies" instead of the classic "cheese."

The coordinator counted down from three, the crowd yelled "Hokies" in unison, and he took the photo. In fact, this process was repeated five or six times.

Those who gathered for the group photo decided to come out and show support for various reasons.

"I am used to this sort of tragedy," Josh Wander, a graduate student in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, said. "I am from Israel, so things like this happen all the time. I was especially touched by the Romanian professor - Liviu Librescu - and Holocaust survivor who risked his life to save his students."

Some supporters made their way to Pitt&#39;s campus from other schools and decided to join in. There was no shortage of students willing to wear the orange and maroon for the Virginia Tech Hokies.

"My school is 45 minutes from Blacksburg. Liberty is showing support even though we are athletic rivals with the Hokies," Jennifer Trujillo, a Liberty University grad, said. "We really are just one family, supporting and praying. It hit home especially being so close."

A campus-wide vigil will be held on Monday, April 23 at 8:30 p.m. on the Cathedral lawn.

Students and faculty are encouraged to attend this event to show support, share condolences and say prayers for the families and community affected by the Virginia Tech tragedy.

Creator

Date

Contributor

Rights

Language

Title

Gun control won&#39;t work in U.S.

Description

By: KONRAD KLINKNER
Columnist
Posted: 4/23/07

The intricacies of the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech are proving to be very enduring media fodder, with NBC lapping up Cho&#39;s media package and the investigations probing deeper and deeper into the background of the gunman, savoring every juicy drop of sordid drama. It&#39;s been so lasting because, as the act of an irrational psycho, it&#39;s riddled with questions that will never be answered - and that always keeps an audience.

Almost grudgingly, one of the few concrete issues that the tragedy has forced back into the national spotlight is one of America&#39;s least favorite debate topics: gun control. One might think that the massacre naturally lends itself easiest as an example of how guns are too easy to acquire here in the States. But, pro-gun rights advocates are already quick to turn it into a case for more self-defense.

Indeed, some gun-rights proponents are even suggesting that Virginia Tech&#39;s campus policy of prohibiting the possession of firearms on campus should be reviewed. A fair number of students are quoted as saying they wished somebody had a gun with them on that day. Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, said, "All the school shootings that have ended abruptly in the last 10 years were stopped because a law-abiding citizen - a potential victim - had a gun. The latest school shooting at Virginia Tech demands an immediate end to the gun-free zone law which leaves the nation&#39;s schools at the mercy of madmen."

So Pratt is suggesting here that allowing guns on campuses would be a big step toward curbing shooting outbreaks. Really? Who thinks to bring a gun to class on a regular basis?

Beyond making a strong case for having more vigilant background checks, though, it&#39;s very unlikely that the Virginia Tech tragedy will spur any significant gun control initiative within the United States. It&#39;s not like any previous mass shooting has.

To many people elsewhere in the world, the recent tragedy is yet another bloody stain on America&#39;s generally ugly reputation. European critics, as to be expected, particularly express their never-ending bafflement that Americans never seem to do anything about their gun laws.

And well they may wonder. But as much as I don&#39;t care for guns and identify more with the ethos of gun-control advocates, I can&#39;t believe that gun control alone is going to fix things. Serious gun control legislation, like what Europe has, is doomed to fail in the United States as it is today, and that&#39;s because guns are just too embedded in American culture for laws alone to make lasting changes about it anytime soon.

History has shown us that prohibition laws are rarely ever effective when they run up against big cultural institutions. A real attempt to bring our gun control laws anywhere near the standards of Western Europe would be disastrous today. If someone ever miraculously pulls off an outright ban on general gun ownership in the United States, that person will probably get shot, and I&#39;d fully expect ferocious, widespread defiance of the law across the entire nation. You&#39;d have to pry those guns from America&#39;s cold, dead hands. Before law reform can be used effectively to curb guns, our gun culture must first undergo reform.

Gun ownership is often trumped up in the United States as a testimony to the hallowed virtues of individualism and self-sufficiency. The civilian&#39;s gun embodies vigilante security and is about as literal as "power to the people" gets - this harkens all the way back to the Revolutionary days when militias actually mattered, which is indeed where we got this Second Amendment from in the first place. It was an assurance to those suspicious of the new federal government that they&#39;d always have their guns to protect them should the feds ever get too tyrannical. Even today some pro-gun rights people will talk about a civilian&#39;s firearms as the last line of defense against governmental tyranny, which really can&#39;t be anything more than just a psychological comfort, since I can&#39;t imagine today&#39;s citizenry armed with handguns and hunting rifles having any chance against our government&#39;s tanks and bomber planes.

But of course it&#39;s naive to say that gun enthusiasm in America mainly comes from a militant devotion to liberty. On a more simple level, people just like shooting things, and having guns makes you dangerous and therefore potentially cool.

I get somewhat torn when it comes to this, because on one hand, I&#39;m not a fan of real guns, but I honestly also think guns are quite awesome when kept to the realm of fiction, as in video games. Most U.S. politicians tend to take an inverse stance, being way more comfortable supporting restrictions on the mere depiction of guns rather than restricting guns in real life. Personally, I would rather there not be necessary restrictions on anything, and that American culture could just chill out with the guns out of its own volition. That, I think, will bring more peace than any law will bring about, but it will be a long time in coming.

Language

Title

Description

The Virginia Tech massacre in late April was a shocking reminder of the importance of campus safety.

Pitt, which spends more than $9 million annually on security measures, has many organizations and programs that promote safety on campus.

First and foremost, the Pitt police department safeguards the lives of students every day and represents the third largest police force in Allegheny County. In addition to officers on foot, bicycle or motorcycle, the department includes 74 commissioned police officers and has a minimum of four cars patrolling Oakland&#39;s streets during each shift.

There are four Pitt police stations on campus. They are located at Sutherland Hall, Sennott Square and two locations on Forbes Avenue, one between the Barco Law Building and David Lawrence Hall. The other is the new Public Safety Building located at 3412 Forbes Ave.

Students can report crimes by calling the Pitt police at (412) 624-2121 or by dialing 4-2121 on a campus phone, going to one of the stations or by using the anonymous tips portion of the Pitt police&#39;s website at www.pitt.edu/~police. More than 500 emergency phones, which students can use to contact Pitt police in case of an emergency, are located across campus. Exterior and garage phones are easily identifiable by their blue lights.

In addition, nearly 300 surveillance cameras are spread throughout the campus and are monitored 24 hours a day.

The University also maintains many other safety measures beside the University police. In the event of a campus-wide emergency, the communications center at the Public Safety Building is equipped to lock down 80 percent of Pitt&#39;s buildings. Also, the University can send emergency e-mails to students, faculty and staff and make emergency announcements over the public address systems in campus buildings.

Pitt&#39;s Office of Sexual Assault Services provides counseling and medical services for anyone who has been sexually harassed or abused. Students can reach OSAS at (412) 648-7930.

Each term the University offers a one-credit personal-defense course, which teaches students to defend themselves and escape from an attacker.

Security guards control access to all residence halls. Students must present their student IDs, which are then swiped through an electronic system by the guards, to gain access to their residence halls. Guests wishing to enter a residence hall must first have a student who lives there sign them in. Guests must also be signed out or the resident may face a fine.

Each residence hall has a resident assistant on every floor. Their duties include supervising fire evacuations, resolving roommate disputes, and handling vandalism, disorderly conduct, medical and psychological emergencies. RAs are on duty every evening, including weekends and holidays. Each residence hall has a resident director to supervise the RAs.

In all residence halls, dorm-room doors can only be opened with either a key or the occupant&#39;s student ID followed by a four-digit code.

The University also urges students to practice common sense when traversing the campus. Students should stay in well-lit and highly-traveled areas. When running or walking, students should travel with someone and carry a whistle. Students should also familiarize themselves with emergency phone locations.